French President
Emmanuel Macron
and British "Prime Minister"
Boris Johnson
have exchanged reproaches and accusations for the tragedy in which 27 immigrants lost their lives after the boat in which they tried to cross the English Channel sank.
The
tensions
between London and Paris were in evidence after the telephone conversation between the two leaders on Wednesday night, hours after the greatest loss of human life during the risky journey that 27,500 immigrants have completed this year, triple the number in 2020. .
"We have a shared responsibility," Macron stressed.
An Elysee spokesman said the French president asked Johnson for "full cooperation" and warned him
not to use the tragedy "for political purposes."
Boris Johnson stressed that Thursday's accident, with the sinking of an inflatable boat in which 34 immigrants were traveling, has shown that
France "is not doing enough"
and has called for the launch of an operation with joint patrols in the French shores.
The "premier" will surely participate in an extraordinary plenary session on Thursday on the Canal crisis.
"We have had a difficult time persuading our partners, particularly the French, to do things differently as the situation deserves," Johnson said.
"I understand the difficulties that all countries face, but
what we need now is to act together
, and that is the offer we have made."
The French Government
rejected in the past the possibility of joint patrols
on its coasts, alleging a conflict of sovereignty in its waters.
Paris is still awaiting the arrival of a 65 million euro assistance package, approved in June by the British government and delayed by "administrative problems", according to Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Patel herself was accused several weeks ago of "blackmail" by senior members of the French Government, who also criticized her intention to send the boats loaded with immigrants to France as a violation of human rights and international law.
Macron convened an emergency cabinet this Thursday and has also asked the European Union for help, with a reinforcement of the border agency, Frontex.
"We will not allow the English Channel to become a graveyard," said the French president.
The mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, joined the dialectical exchange and asked Johnson directly to "assume his responsibilities."
"
The British government is to blame,
" said Bouchart.
"For the last year and a half, they have decided to cynically accuse France."
In Calais, the arduous process of identifying the rescued bodies continues.
French police reported that most of the victims are Iranian and Iraqi Kurds.
Of the total bodies recovered, seventeen are men, seven women and three adolescents (two boys and one girl).
Two survivors remain under intensive surveillance in the hospital and at least four people, linked to human trafficking mafias, were arrested in a police operation within hours.
According to a recent report by the Department of the Interior, up to 70% of the immigrants who cross the Canal could aspire to the status of "refugees", with a high presence of Iranians of Kurdish origin.
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